When a novelist hits a creative wall, the standard advice is to step away—perhaps go for a walk or tackle the housework. David Lambert, a Cardiff-born polymath opted for a far more radical detour. While struggling to finish a story centred on love and identity in post-war Cardiff, Wales Lambert downed tools and embarked on an intensive reading marathon: fourteen novels in fourteen weeks.
Using the iconic "cut-up" method championed by the likes of William S. Burroughs and David Bowie, Lambert sliced through over a million words to find the soul of his own unfinished manuscript. The result isn't a book, but ‘… all her geese are swans’, a strikingly original 14-track odyssey released under the moniker Wenallt Star.
Reflecting on the Herculean task, Lambert noted: “I read 1,052,211 words, using 4126 as research for the novel and ended up creating 14 spoken texts that became 14 songs; will I ever get back to the novel?”
This is 21st-century storytelling that refuses to be pigeonholed. Collaborating with a rotating cast of musicians—including Sean South, Liz Lenten, and Stephen Hudson—Lambert has crafted a record where his spoken text word isn't merely laid over a backing track; it is woven into the very fabric of the sound. The diversity is staggering. You’ll find the laid-back, bohemian energy of Harlem Renaissance-inspired ‘hopeless things … the star’ sitting comfortably alongside the abrasive punk aesthetics of ‘Restlessness .
The album boasts a genuine cinematic breadth. ‘the potion and the poison plunges the listener into a nine-minute electronic trance that feels like a neon-lit stroll through Tiger Bay, while ‘ALL GONE / THAT TIME / THOSE PEOPLE - PAWB WEDI MYND / YR AMSER HYNNW / Y BOBL HYNNY channels a crisp, 1980s synth-pop vibe reminiscent of The Human League. One of the most arresting moments is ‘SHE (The far-off interest of tears)’, a track so atmospheric it practically alters your heart rate, blending haunting saxophone with choral whispers.
While the record is an intellectual feat, it remains remarkably accessible. The use of the Welsh language and Lambert’s regional lilt grounds these abstract texts in a tangible sense of place. “The album’s common denominator,” Lambert explains, “is my spoken texts within the fourteen very different musical styles and genres.”
It is a vulnerable, intimate, and infectious exploration of the human condition. You can stream the new album above, and for more, be sure to join Wenallt Star on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook
